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The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
Unavailable
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
Unavailable
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
Audiobook6 hours

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

Written by Jeanne Birdsall

Narrated by Susan Denaker

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

With over one million copies sold, this series of modern classics about the charming Penderwick family from National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller Jeanne Birdsall is perfect for fans of Noel Streatfeild and Edward Eager.

This summer the Penderwick sisters have a wonderful surprise: a holiday on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. Soon they are busy discovering the summertime magic of Arundel's sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel's owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures.

The icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is not as pleased with the Penderwicks as Jeffrey is, though, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Which, of course, they will-won't they? One thing's for sure: it will be a summer the Penderwicks will never forget.

Deliciously nostalgic and quaintly witty, this is a story as breezy and carefree as a summer day.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 24, 2006
ISBN9780307284525
Unavailable
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
Author

Jeanne Birdsall

Jeanne Birdsall is the National Book Award-winning author of The Penderwicks and its sequel, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (Knopf), both of which were also New York Times bestsellers. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with her husband, three insane cats, and a stubborn Boston terrier named Cagney. Visit her website at www.jeannebirdsall.com.

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Reviews for The Penderwicks

Rating: 4.163183960696517 out of 5 stars
4/5

1,005 ratings97 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a fun read! This is the story of sisters who act like real children: they argue, have misadventures, make friends, and all this without any taint of schmaltz or pretension, a tale that an adult can read and enjoy. Thanks to whoever on LT who recommended this book. Now, on to book #2!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Cute book. I find it only mildly interesting, but I could see it becoming a favorite if I'd encountered it when I was younger. I do want to read the rest of the series. The romance (when the oldest protagonist is 12) annoyed me a bit - but then they lampshaded it and it worked better for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Penderwicks is a light read for girls ages 8-10 (boys would probably be bored with it). It revolves around the four Penderwick sisters and their adventures at a rented summer home named Arundel. Heavily character driven, the book is charming and has an old-fashioned feel to it. You get to know the personalities of each of the girls and appreciate the relationship they have with each other.What I liked: The book is well-written, innocent, and enchanting. For young girls, especially those with sisters, I could see this being a fun read.What I didn’t like: the lack of actual escapades. The kids experience adventures that are realistic and that could indeed happen at a summer cottage on vacation, but (and this is a total personal preference) I wanted to see more adventures, ones that are bigger than life. So, even though it is charming, parts of it seemed to drag on and I found myself flipping pages to see if something more exciting was coming up.Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I picked this up as the blurb made me think of books I read when I was a kid. I wasn't wrong on that guess.The Penderwick family is made up of four sisters; Rosalind - 12, Skye - 11, Jane - 11 and Batty (her real name is Elizabeth) - 4, Mr. Penderwick - their father and Hound - their dog. Their father is a professor of Botany, and tends to get a little absent minded when he starts thinking of plants.The story takes in Massachusettes. It is summer and the family usually spends the summer at a particular cottage at Cape Cod. This year the cottage was sold and they are staying at different one that shares property with a large country house. The owners are a young widow and her son Jeffrey. Jeffrey is in the same age group as the girls, but leads a very sheltered life.Rosalind is getting to the age of liking boys; Skye is a tomboy and is always on the go; Jane is a budding author and is writing her next big action adventure; Batty is a sweet little girl who loves all creatures but is very shy around people she doesn't know; Jeffrey is all boy but he also has a love for music.It is a story about how things change as you grow. In the few weeks that the characters get to spend together, they learn about each other and they each find changes in their lives. They also experience adventures and mishaps. There are funny moments, sad moments and more.For a little trip back in the time machine, this is a nice journey. It has a taste of Alcott's 'Little Women'.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As summer was rapidly coming to an end, it was time to read this book. I am so glad I did. While written for middle-school age readers, it is easily enjoyable by any adult who remembers what that time felt like. This gentle story made me laugh, shake my head in quiet remembrance, and remember all the giddiness of that first crush. I think if you liked Little Women, then this book might appeal to you as well. Highly recommended and I have already bought the sequel.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fun, simple story, if you enjoy kids books you'll like this.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The four Penderwick girls - Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty - spend their summer at a cottage in The Berkshires with their father and trusty dog Hound. They get into gentle scrapes while trying to avoid the mean woman next door, playing with her son, and swooning over the teenage groundskeeper (ok that last one is just Rosalind)Ugh you 75ers really got me with this one. It was so great!! I could tell that the author took just the best parts of all the children's (especially girls') adventure stories I loved as a kid and made something completely new but deliciously familiar. It feels timeless, with only a mention or two of computers to set it in the late 90s or early 00s. Kids running around and having fun has no time!All the girls are perfect. Their father is perfect (all adults in children's adventure stories are either bumbling idiots or perfect). There are tons of animals. The baby (Batty) is delightful. I loved every second of it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The four Penderwick sisters, their father, and their dog rent a cottage for summer vacation that turns out to be on the same property as an enormous mansion with vast gardens, all owned by the stern Mrs. Tifton whose son, Jeffrey, befriends the girls. It leads to all kinds of adventures, which is fun, but the whole time I could not shake the feeling that it was basically Little Women except five years younger and set 150 years in the future. This is not a complaint, especially as this book is far funnier and much less preachy than Alcott's classic. I'm glad to see there are other books in this series; I'd love to revisit these characters later in their lives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Though published in 2005 and set in the present, "The Penderwicks" feels like a much older book, and in the best possible way. It reminded me a bit of E. Nesbit and Edward Eager.The four Penderwick sisters and their widower father go to spend four weeks in a cottage for summer vacation. They are surprised when they arrive to find the cottage on the property of an enormous mansion. Roslind, the eldest (12) falls head over heels for the estate's gardener, a friendly, easy-going teenage boy. After a rough meeting, Skye and Jane develop a close friendship with Jeffrey, the fun and interesting son of the estate's owner. His mother is a rather horrid woman though, who grows to despise the Penderwick girls more every time she encounters them. The youngest child, Batty, and the family dog, Hound, interact with everyone in their own ways.Fun lighthearted summer adventures, with a fun family.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I am six and a half and I recommend it. It was fun.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I LOVE this book, the penderwicks, the little house on the prairie and Nancy drew are my favorite book series of all time. I love all of the characters and the story line, I think my favorite character is Skye. I am 10 years old.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A widowed botany professor and his four daughters (Rosalind 12, Skye 11, Jane 10, and Batty 4) rent Arundel Cottage, part of the Arundel estate owned & occupied by the snobby Mrs. Tifton and her (very interesting) son Jeffrey, 11.The Penderwicks won the annual U.S. National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2005.I think I thought this was delightful when I read it but I’ve forgotten just about everything about it. Get it into the hands of your tweens and read it aloud to your younger children. I suspect that’s when the magic happens.4 stars
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Penderwicks is the story of the Penderwick sisters and their adventures one summer. Their father has rented their family a cottage for their summer vacation, and they have found a new friend, Jeffrey, the son of the estate owner.But with four sisters, one friend, two rabbits, and a dog, trouble is bound to happen. It's guaranteed to be a summer full of adventure.This book is the definition of a fun, comforting, delightful cozy read. It reminds me so much of the books my parents would read me before bed, and the books I would seek out as a child once I learned to read. It only makes sense that this is a book my dad lent me.The Penderwicks is a read that will make you feel happy, just like when you were a child, curled up under a warm blanket, lost in a world of adventures.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Along with their father, the four Penderwick sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty plus their dog, Hound, spend three weeks in a rented cottage on the grounds of a large estate where they make new friends and have various adventures.Many voices around LT have warbled about this charming children's novel and I'll be adding mine to the chorus. It is a delightfully charming novel that so well captures the feeling of summer vacations as a child with a narrative that's pretty timeless and could take place any time in the last 30 years (Mr. Penderwick does bring a computer with him, which gives the book some sense of occurring recently). If you're looking for a lovely, sweet summer read, look no further.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was just adorable.I am doing the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge and middle grades was one of the categories. I was not thrilled: I don't usually like YA, and it has been years since I had a middle grades reader in the house so I could not even recall if I liked this genre or not. Turns out, I do! Plucky and smart sisters, their large and sloppy dog, and their professor dad take on the world. I may even read another in this series. Thanks Book Riot, this was the perfect antidote to my enjoyable but intense month with Franzen, Groff, and Strout.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    audiobook - children's fiction (3rd-6th grade; themes dealing with grief/dead mother, secret adventures, when to speak up/talk to a parent)

    This series always makes me cry... I think I prefer the print version over audio, though.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a delightful book for young readers! The Penderwick family -- father, four daughters, and dog -- are renting a cottage on Cape Cod for summer vacation. They enjoy fun adventures, make friends with the boy who lives in the main house, and occasionally take part in mischief. It has the feel of a simpler time and place although the setting is more current. It would make a great summer read for elementary readers who read at a third grade level or above.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very reminiscent of Little Women... I'd be much more annoyed about that if the Penderwicks weren't so darn charming.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ah, this reads like a treasured childhood novel! Only the mention of using a computer reminded me of its 21st century publication date and setting. A fine cast of family characters in a bucolic summer vacation setting, complete with a few local villains to complicate things makes for great fun. Five books in the series -- can't wait to see what other adventures await this lovely family!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Absolutely enchanting, especially for fans of Five Children and It others by Nesbit, and The Moffats and others by Estes. So nostalgic I hope it gets a much wider readership than anything this innocent is likely to.

    ETA. I see that it has become fairly popular, and the sequel was good, too. Yay! For more read-alikes, I highly recommend Family Grandstand] and probably others by Carol Ryrie Brink.
    ......................

    A reread (for the GR Children's Books group, June 2015) reveals that the book holds up well.  I'm a little older now, and a little more concerned about the havoc the children wreak, even a little more sympathetic to Jeffrey's mother.  I'm also very glad Rosalind learned her lesson when so young.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love, love, love this book. Read it out loud to my kids -- ages 7 and 8. It's a book about ordinary kids. Models good sibling relationships. Excellent and interesting characters. Funny and fun.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A very sweet story about a sweet family (4 young girls and a widowed father) who spends the summer as tenants of a wealthy woman and her young son. The pluses are that each of the characters are distinct and appealing, they care for each other and the Penderwick code of honor, the minus is that it is not as exciting as say the Harry Potter series, though the writing is better. Will appeal mostly to 8-10 year old girls who wish they had sisters like these, and prefer adventures that are not death-defying or terrifying.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Audio book narrated by Susan Denaker

    The four Penderwick sisters and their father always have taken a beach cottage on Cape Cod. At least until this summer, when their summer retreat has been sold, and at the last minute they have been scrambling to find an alternate. That’s how they come to rent the guest cottage at Arundel, a magnificent estate in the Berkshires. There is a lot of land to explore and they make several new friends, and at least one enemy.

    This is a lovely children’s book about family and friends. The situations the girls get into are realistic and fun. Her plot contains elements of suspense, sorrow, joy and humor. Birdsall herself said “By the time I was ten or eleven, I’d run out of books to read. Each week I’d go to the library hoping that one of my favorite authors had written something new … I promised myself that I’d become a writer someday, to give readers like me a few more books to discover and enjoy.” This book was her first effort, and it’s a delight. I wish it had been around when I was a girl.

    Susan Denaker does a good job reading the audio version.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A lovely romp, good summer fun with quirky characters
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book!!! Great ending, I will definitely read the next two!!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This story about a family of four girls, their widowed father, and their summer vacation at a country estate seems timeless. The dialogue and many of the activities seem modern. For example, two of the girls play soccer, which is much more popular now than it was during my childhood. One of the sisters, an aspiring author, types her finished novel on her father's computer. At the same time, modern technology is rarely mentioned in the book. The children spend most of their time outdoors. The oldest girl mails letters to her best friend back home. No mention of emails, texting, or Facebook. The family relies on a paper map rather than a GPS device to find their rental, adding some unexpected excitement to the journey. Technology changes so quickly that references to specific technologies can make a book seem dated within a short period of time, so the absence of references to contemporary technology might extend the book's popularity.This is a perfect book for escaping from a cold and dreary autumn day. It reminded me of the seemingly endless summers of my childhood. Warmly recommended for both children and adults.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a delight this was! The Penderwick sisters--Rosalind, twelve; Skye, eleven; Jane, ten; and Batty, four--are off to spend a few weeks of summer in a cabin with their father and their faithful dog, Hound. They meet new friends, have adventures, and get into scrapes. Each of the sisters is wonderfully individualized--never once did I get any two of them mixed up--and they have real-kid interests without feeling Intentionally Topical. The Penderwicks is a modern-day story which is both timeless and the best kind of old-fashioned. A great under-a-tree-on-a-breezy-summer-day book for just about anybody and nothing short of perfect for any readerly girl of about nine or ten.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The four Penderwick sisters, along with their father and dog, Hound, rent a cottage on the estate of Mrs. Tifton and her son, Jeffery. Jeffery is very happy that they are there, but Mrs. Tifton is not - she is ready for these raucous girls to go home! But, the adventure the girls bring might just be what they need.This is definitely a book where the cover is deceiving. I thought this was going to be a book set in the 50s or 60s just because the cover had a very "boxcar children" feel. Instead it is modern day realistic fiction that feels as charming as the boxcar children, but with quite a bit more spunk.